Thursday, December 13, 2007
Consumers say they'll be digging a little deeper this season, spending an average of $1,447 on holiday expenses, according to a poll by the Retail Council of Canada. In 2006, consumers said they expected to spend $1,310 on holiday gifts, travel, decorations and entertainment. The poll, which surveyed 2,600 participants from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30, found that 94 per cent of Canadians planned on giving gifts, budgeting an average of $733. British Columbians planned to spend the most on presents at $950 while Quebecers expected to spend the least at $552. The poll found men will spend an average of $791 on Christmas shopping, compared to the average of $682 spent by women.
The survey also found 97 per cent of shoppers planned to rely on bricks and mortar stores. The number of shoppers who planned to do some shopping online has increased to 43 per cent, up five per cent from last year. About 29 per cent of Canadians planned to buy cash-loaded gift cards, representing a jump of 10 per cent over the past two years, according to the poll.
Everyone is not getting the gift, and we should be happy that things that we have. Many people are dying in the other side of the planet, and we are spending thousand of money buying gifts for us. I hope people who has more things than others would share little bit of their stuffs. I hope everyone have great wonderful holidays.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Deadly ice storm grips U.S. Midwest
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A massive winter storm already blamed for the deaths of at least 24 people in the U.S. Midwest spread north Tuesday, bringing more ice and widespread power outages to the region. Officials in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma have declared states of emergency. About 2½ centimetres of ice are expected to coat parts of Iowa, followed by up to 13 centimetres of sleet and snow. As much as three centimetres of ice had already accumulated on trees, power lines, streets and car windshields Monday in parts of Oklahoma.
Tens of thousands of students stayed home in Wisconsin and Iowa, while kids across most of Oklahoma and the Kansas City, Mo., area were at home for the second day in a row.More than 600,000 customers in Oklahoma were still in the dark Tuesday after power lines throughout the state were downed by heavy ice and branches. It was the largest power outage in the state's history.
I hope US is would be well prepared for it, I think they do. This would be closed down the hole mid east cities, but citizens of US would be okay, and it will be moved other way. I don’t want it to come to Canada.
Gunman kills 8 in Nebraska, then turns gun on himself
Police have confirmed nine people are dead after a young man opened fire in a busy mall in Omaha, Neb., on Wednesday. The shooter, brandishing a rifle, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing eight people in the busy shopping centre, Omaha police said. Witnesses said he was firing at his victims below from a third-floor balcony. Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Bellevue, Neb. Authorities recovered an SKS assault rifle from the scene.
A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Omaha television station KETV that a family friend found a suicide note at the home where Hawkins was staying. The note referenced the young man's wish to "go out in style," KETV reported. Omaha police Sgt. Teresa Negron told reporters the shootings had ended by the time officers responded six minutes later to a 911 call from the Westroads Mall, located in an affluent neighbourhood on the city's west side.
Soon afterward, people emerged from the mall with their hands raised in the air, some still clutching shopping bags. Screams broke out and shoppers and employees ran for their lives when the shooting began. Some people reportedly barricaded themselves in dressing rooms and prayed.
I often hear that guns shock in the Canada around the Canada. I felt that Canada is not safest country anymore. My parent decided to send Canada for study, because Canada is one of the most safest country, and one of the best eduction in the World, but I heard that these kind of new, I knew Canada is not safest ocuntry in the world. I sad that I heard this new, and I hope this wouldn’t be happen anymore; governent should jair the gun in the country.
Divorce bad for the environment, researchers say
Soaring divorce rates around the globe are taking a toll on the environment, American researchers suggested in a study released Monday. Michigan State University researcher Jianguo "Jack" Liu and his assistant Eunice Yu said the increasing number of divorces leads to more households with fewer people and greater consumption of water and energy. They said housing units require space, construction materials and fuel to heat and cool, regardless of the number of inhabitants.
For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households. That costs $6.9 billion US in extra utility costs per year, Liu said, plus an added $3.6 billion for water, in addition to other costs such as land use.
"A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household," Liu said. He said that in cohabitating households, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator, all things that use energy at a regularly stable rate regardless of the number of uses.
It seems funny, but I think it is reasonable, and important concept. If people are divorced then, the environment would be harmful, but it is their choice. As a reaseraching that singles have to cook, and use more electircity then who are married. If people can’t live together then, they should seperate away from each others. Before get merried, people should think theirselve to make a right choice; whether you are living with person who really loves you, and you really loves to.
For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households. That costs $6.9 billion US in extra utility costs per year, Liu said, plus an added $3.6 billion for water, in addition to other costs such as land use.
"A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household," Liu said. He said that in cohabitating households, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator, all things that use energy at a regularly stable rate regardless of the number of uses.
It seems funny, but I think it is reasonable, and important concept. If people are divorced then, the environment would be harmful, but it is their choice. As a reaseraching that singles have to cook, and use more electircity then who are married. If people can’t live together then, they should seperate away from each others. Before get merried, people should think theirselve to make a right choice; whether you are living with person who really loves you, and you really loves to.
Atlanta boys, ages 8 and 9, charged in rape of girl, 11
Three boys, ages 8 and 9, were being held Monday in a detention centre on charges of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl near a suburban apartment complex, officials said. The alleged attack happened Thursday and the girl's mother reported it to authorities Sunday, Acworth police Capt. Wayne Dennard said.
The three boys — an eight-year-old and two nine-year-olds — were charged with rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment and sexual assault, Dennard said. They were due in juvenile court Monday afternoon. Their names were being withheld because of their ages.
"The victim said they were playing outdoors and the girl was forced into a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted, where one of the boys raped her," Dennard told the Associated Press.
Acworth police Chief Mike Wilkie said one of the boys was accused of threatening to hit the girl with a rock before the alleged assault. Wilkie also said the investigation is "far from over," and investigators are looking into claims that after the alleged attack, the girl talked about it with her friends at a slumber party. The father of the eight-year-old boy said his son had been falsely accused and had not had sex with the girl.
I was shocked when I saw this news, I couldn’t believe. Ages 8 and 9 are the grade 2, or grade 3 student are kids. They probablly don’t know what’s going on him.
The three boys — an eight-year-old and two nine-year-olds — were charged with rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment and sexual assault, Dennard said. They were due in juvenile court Monday afternoon. Their names were being withheld because of their ages.
"The victim said they were playing outdoors and the girl was forced into a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted, where one of the boys raped her," Dennard told the Associated Press.
Acworth police Chief Mike Wilkie said one of the boys was accused of threatening to hit the girl with a rock before the alleged assault. Wilkie also said the investigation is "far from over," and investigators are looking into claims that after the alleged attack, the girl talked about it with her friends at a slumber party. The father of the eight-year-old boy said his son had been falsely accused and had not had sex with the girl.
I was shocked when I saw this news, I couldn’t believe. Ages 8 and 9 are the grade 2, or grade 3 student are kids. They probablly don’t know what’s going on him.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Quebec boy dies after schoolyard shoving match
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A 12-year-old boy died Monday morning after he was hit by a girl during morning recess at a Laurentians-area school north of Montreal, police said. Provincial police said the children were arguing in the schoolyard in Saint-Eustache and insulting each other when the quarrel escalated into a shoving match. The 11-year-old girl allegedly punched the boy in the chest. The boy, who was in Grade 6, then collapsed, according to eyewitness reports.
He was taken to hospital unconscious and died later. The girl has been placed in the care of youth protection officials. Officials at the Horizon-Soleil school said that neither of the two students had a history of violence, but noted that the boy who died was known by staff to have cardiac problems stemming from heart arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. Still, the boy was reportedly healthy enough to participate in gym class.
This is very sad, and mystery news, because 13 years old died after hit by a girl during morning recess. Even boy got hit by chest, and the boy wouldn’t be died, because of it. As a mention in a summary, I think boy died, because of the his unknown cardiac problems or an irregular heartbeat and school said that neither of the two studnets had a history of violence. By the this news, we always should not allow school vilolence, or any viloence in the our society.
Space shuttle Discovery lands in Florida
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The space shuttle Discovery touched down at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:02 p.m. ET Wednesday afternoon, concluding a 15-day mission to the International Space Station that saw the crew repair a ripped solar wing and complete four spacewalks. The shuttle landed on Runway 33, making a right overhead turn as it approached the landing facility.
Discovery's return to Earth was the first coast-to-coast re-entry by a space shuttle since the destruction of Columbia over Texas in 2003. The landing path started over British Columbia then cut diagonally east over the Great Plains and several southern U.S. states.
The space shuttle Discovery touched down at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:02 p.m. ET Wednesday afternoon, concluding a 15-day mission to the International Space Station that saw the crew repair a ripped solar wing and complete four spacewalks. The shuttle landed on Runway 33, making a right overhead turn as it approached the landing facility.
Discovery's return to Earth was the first coast-to-coast re-entry by a space shuttle since the destruction of Columbia over Texas in 2003. The landing path started over British Columbia then cut diagonally east over the Great Plains and several southern U.S. states.
The descent into orbit began at 11:59 a.m. ET, when shuttle commander Pam Melroy and pilot George Zamka fired the jets for about two minutes to slow the vehicle. At 12:30, the shuttle encountered the effects of the atmosphere, a point called "entry interface," and five minutes later it began a series of rolls to help it slow down and bleed off excess energy.
The original landing plan called for a pre-dawn touchdown in Florida with a flight over Central America and the Caribbean. However, crew fatigue after the long and busy mission, which began Oct. 23, led NASA to change plans.
The original landing plan called for a pre-dawn touchdown in Florida with a flight over Central America and the Caribbean. However, crew fatigue after the long and busy mission, which began Oct. 23, led NASA to change plans.
US is spenting billions dallars on the space ship, but I don’t know it would be help for the our future or not. There are people are dying, because they could eat anything for theirsevels on the other side of the planet, but we are spenting billions money on the space suttle. This would be helpful, but right now, many people require the helps, and this money can help many people’s lives. This is our tax.(Americans.) It is intreasitng topics to discuss.
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